


Beauty is the Beast

by MerakiMela



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrino, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Angst, Fairy Tale Curses, Familial bonding, M/M, ML Secret Santa, Mentions of Violence, Mutual Pining, Ninoir, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance, slow burn but not really, werecat au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:01:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28238148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MerakiMela/pseuds/MerakiMela
Summary: When a talented young bard with something to prove walks into the life of an isolated young lord with a dark secret, not only do they find themselves drawn to each other, but also closer to the thruth about themselves.This is an Adrino Werecat AU fic written as a gift for Tumblr user Buggachat for the ML Secret Santa Gift Exchange 2020.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Nino Lahiffe
Comments: 6
Kudos: 32





	1. Enter the Bard

**Author's Note:**

  * For [buggachat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/buggachat/gifts).



> For @Buggachat
> 
> I sincerely hope you enjoy this fic, as your content on Tumblr has brought me a lot of joy.

It was a quiet, average day for most in the bustling village of Miracule. Most, excluding one young bard named Nino Lahiffe, who was currently doing his best not to panic as he made his way to his new job at the Agreste estate. As an excessively wealthy noble family, they could afford to hire not only cleaning staff and knights, but also entertainers such as musicians and jesters. What Nino wasn’t expecting at the time of his hire, was that he was expected to move into one of the spare rooms of the property, so that if anyone in the family felt the urge to listen to music, he’d be there within five minutes. At the time he was too stunned to turn it down, but as he approached the gates, he wished he had. The idea of living with snobby rich people only for the sake of catering to their whims sounded awful, and that’s before thinking about how much they’d judge his appearance and his lack of etiquette. So far, he’d only met the head of staff, and even she looked down on him! He didn’t even understand why he got the job in the first place.

 _“If those people are smart, they’re going to care more about how talented you are than how expensive your clothes are.”_ His mother had said that morning. He almost laughed at that, remembering that with Princess Chloe as the only noble person he had met before, there was every chance they’d care more about his clothes than how well he can play the lute. He figured even if they were all as dreadful as the princess, it would still be worth it for the salary he’d expect on the job. With the money he’d be able to send back home, his parents would be able to upgrade their house to make it safer at night, lest the beast that terrorises the village and surrounding areas feels the urge to attack. It hadn’t ventured that far into the village too often, but it cheered him greatly to know he was helping keep his loved ones safe.

Reaching the gates, his thoughts immediately sobered. Guarding the entrance were two intimidatingly large men, who both glowered down at him as he came to a stop before them. Quickly, it dawned on him that he had not been given instructions for entering the estate. Watching their expressions grow impatient, he cleared his throat.

“G-Good morning.” He stammered out. The men didn’t react at all, faces locked as if waiting for him to say anything of value.

“I’m meant to be starting work here today as an in-house musician. My Name is Nino Lahiffe.” He continued. Still no reaction. Suddenly, Nino became anxious of the chance that he had misunderstood what he’d been told. Was he meant to arrive a different day? Was he not meant to come at all, and he hadn’t actually been hired?

“H-Has Madame Sancouer told you I was coming, or do you need to check with her before letting me in?” Nino asked, hoping name dropping the head of staff and a question would spring the imposing men into action. While the one on the left didn’t move, the one on the right let out an unpleasant laugh.

“You expect me to believe that Lord Agreste went and hired a scrawny street urchin instead of some upper-class musician?” The one on the right questioned in a cruel, mocking tone. Nino furrowed his brow, forcing his anger to quell as much as he could.

“No, but I do expect you to believe he’d pick me. I am no street urchin, sir.” Nino replied as firmly as he could. He may not have anywhere near as much wealth as the Agrestes, but he was far from destitute. Even if he was, it gave the man no right to look down on him. The laughing expression dropped back to a scowl, now far more irritated than before.

“You’ve got some nerve talking to me like that! I ought to beat you bloody and leave you for the beast, you little –”

“That’s quite enough, Sir Talan.” A sharp, familiar voice interrupted. Through the gaps in the metal gate, Nino could make out Madame Sancouer standing stoically behind it.

“You were instructed to intimidate away unwanted guests, not insult those who have been invited here. As a member of Lord Agreste’s staff it is unacceptable for you address your equals in such fashion, even more so for him to be seen talked to in such a way. You won’t be warned again.” She scolded coldly, not looking up from the scroll in her hand. Without any warning, the guard on his left silently turned to pull the lever behind him, which seemed to activate something metallic sounding and before he knew it the gate was lifting.

“Follow me, Lahiffe. Lord Agreste does not have all day.” Madame Sancouer said blankly, before pivoting sharply and walking further into the property. Nino ducked past the intimidating men, pretending not to see the one on the right scowling angrily at him, and paced quickly to catch up with the woman. His stomach flipped with anxiety as he followed her down the path leading through a large courtyard scattered with knights who were training very intensely. Between the imposing gate guards and Madame Sancouer, he wasn’t sure who he was more intimidated by. Sure, those men could probably snap his neck with one hand, but Madame Sancouer had complete control over them, not to mention she could read. He didn’t even know if noble women were allowed to read, let alone someone who was part of the working class. If she’s expected to read, what expectations did this Lord Agreste have of him?

Sooner than he’d have liked, they had wound through several hallways until they reached a set of large doors that Nino could only describe as “excessively glamourous”, as the carvings in the rich oak were far more elaborate than he’d ever think was necessary. Looking over at Madame Sancouer, Nino couldn’t help but feel as though she looked somewhat nervous. The feeling in his stomach worsened. If she was nervous, then he _really_ didn’t stand a chance. Madame Sancouer schooled her expression back to neutral very quickly, before knocking clearly on the door.

“What is it Nathalie?” A man’s voice called, muffled but the door.

“I have brought the court musician I had hired. I thought it be best you appraise him before he settles.” Madame Sancouer replied with a clear, yet blank tone.

“Very well. Enter.” The voice said abruptly. Without hesitating, Madame Sancouer pulled the one of the double doors open and gave a subtle gesture for Nino to enter.

If he thought the doors were a lot, they were only a taste of what was to come with the room they lead to. Between the chandelier and the gilded tapestries, everything about the room screamed “I have more money than I know what to do with”. Towards the centre back of the room stood a massive, black table that was just as elaborately carved as the door. Standing on the other side of the table was an older man with fading blond hair that was slicked back out of his face, which wore an expression that somehow showed focus and boredom at the same time as he looked down at the map that was spread out in front of him. The fact that the man was yet to look up gave Nino the confidence to shift his focus to the painting on the wall behind him. The painting was enormous, stretching from the floor to the ceiling in height, and depicted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life. He couldn’t believe a real person could hold such beauty, so he could only speculate that either she was the product of an artist’s imagination, or the woman’s feature’s have been heavily embellished. Before he could ponder if that were commonplace for nobles and royalty, the man standing at the table looked up at him, forcing Nino’s attention back down to meet his gaze. He immediately regretted making eye contact with the man, as the moment their eyes locked, Nino felt as though he had been shot with an arrow with how sharp his gaze was. Was he not meant to make eye contact with the lord? Should he look away? Or would looking away show weakness? Nino severely wished he knew the first thing about etiquette before coming to this nightmare place.

“Nathalie.” Was all the man said, not breaking eye contact with Nino.

“Yes, my lord?” Madame Sancouer voiced.

“That is a child.” The lord stated. Nino bit back a retort, knowing that talking back to this man would be the stupidest thing he could do in this moment. He wasn’t a child, he was seventeen and soon to be eighteen, so he was essentially an adult at this stage in his life. Hell, most in the village were considered adults by the time they were sixteen as they could efficiently work and bear children. Nino was even tall for his age, so he’d gone passed annoyed and into confused as to why this man thought he was a child.

“I believe a more fitting term would be young adult.” Madame Sancouer commented dryly, which surprised Nino. He wasn’t expecting her to be in a position to sass her boss.

“That may be, but in terms of what talent he could have possibly accumulated in his life for music, he is essentially a child. I know I made it clear that you were to find the best.” Lord Agreste elaborated in an irritated tone, his eyes scanning up and down Nino like an apex predator.

“I have followed your criteria. “Best” does not mean “most experienced”. Out of everyone I saw, he showed a range of becoming qualities that made him the best suited to our needs. He not only had just as much talent as men several years his senior, he also has an impressive repertoire and was far more up to date with modern styles than the other candidates. He composes his own music too, so you’d be far less likely to grow bored with his playing. As for his age… if I may be candid, I believe it would be good for Adrien to practise with someone his own age. After examining his training with the knights, his performance always improved when partnered with a knight that was closer to his age.” Madame Sancouer explained thoroughly. Nino hoped his dark skin hid the heat that was rising to his cheeks. He had no idea he had made that much of an impression on the stoic woman. But his joy at the appraisal halted at recalling the name she had mentioned. _Adrien_. Where had he heard that name before?

“I hope this isn’t some poor attempt at giving my son a friend, Nathalie. He is already friends with the princess, he doesn’t need some common boy for company.” Lord Agreste groaned, rolling his eyes and finally shifting his gaze away from Nino. That’s right. When he had met Princess Chloe, she had mentioned her friend Lord Adrien and prattled on about how the two of them were perfect for each other and when they got married no peasants would be allowed to attend because she didn’t want them to ruin her big day with how filthy they were. If he had known that a requirement of his job would involve spending time with someone who was a perfect match that nightmare girl, he’d have definitely turned it down.

“It was merely a choice I made based on observations of Adrien’s performance levels. Nothing more.” Nathalie replied, expression completely schooled to show no emotion. Lord Agreste sighed before returning his attention to the map.

“Very well. Take him to his room, then introduce him to my son.” He commanded with a lazy wave. With that cue, Nino hastily followed Madame Sancouer out of the room, eager to leave the intimidating man’s presence as swiftly as possible. She led him down more corridors and across a couple of different courtyards, eventually leading him into a section of the estate that while much plainer than where he’d met the lord, was still considerably more decadent than the home he grew up in back at the village.

“This is the staff quarters, where you’ll be staying while you are employed by Lord Agreste. When you are not summoned, you may stay in your room or relax in the courtyards where you can be easily found. If you for some reason need to be anywhere else on the property make sure the nearest guard is aware of where you are going so you can be found quickly if you are called upon.” Madame Sancouer explained to him as they made their way down a hallway, before they came to a stop in front of a simple, unmarked door.

“This is your room. Put down all your possessions except for your lute, then we’ll go to the young lord’s quarters.” She instructed, standing stiffly by the door as she waited for him to finish. He quickly entered the room, placing his worn-out bags on the decent looking bed. The room looked pretty good to him. On the opposite side to the bed, he had a dresser and a desk, and the far wall had a large window that opened out to a balconette that was just large enough for a person to perch on if they wished to sit and feel a nightly breeze. He couldn’t ask for more, really.

Deciding he could inspect his room further later, he darted back out of the room, shutting the door behind him. With a brief nod, Madame Sancouer was on her way again, leaving Nino to trail behind once more. As they walked, Nino silently prayed that he would not have to spend too much time with young Lord Adrien if he was anything like Chloe. After what felt like walking to the opposite side of the property, it finally clicked that Madame Sancouer had said the young lord had his own quarters. This section of the estate was twice the size of the staff quarters, and a thousand times more extravagant.

“How can one person need this much space?” He thought out loud, immediately blanching at his lack of control. Madame Sancouer quirked an eyebrow at him, before turning her eyes back to the direction they were walking.

“The young lord is prohibited from leaving the estate, so Lord Agreste decided it would be best if he was provided anything he could want or need within his quarters, so that he may never be tempted to leave.” She answered. He stopped himself from rolling his eyes. One the one hand, this guy sounded just as pampered as the princess. On the other hand, he felt a little sorry for him. A gilded prison is still a prison, after all. After a few minutes, they reached a beautifully decorated set of double doors that were lined with several locks, with a bored looking knight standing guard. When the knight noticed their approach, he jolted into a better posture and scrambled for the set of keys on his belt. Meanwhile, Madame Sancouer pulled out her own set of keys and made her way to the door. Nino watched as she unlocked half the locks, and the knight the other half in pure disbelief. What in the world did Lord Agreste think was going to happen to his son? Surely nobody would want to kidnap him that bad. Once the locks were done, the knight pulled the doors open for the pair of them, gesturing for them to enter.

As Nino walked in, his eyes blew wide open in shock at the size of the room. He’d guess it was as large as his entire house back home, and this was only the bedroom! Looking between the canopy bed, the bookshelves, the chaise lounge, and the clavichord, he wondered what all the other rooms were even for. He scanned the room looking for its inhabitant, only to realise nobody was in here.

“Adrien?” Madame Sancouer called out, only looking nervous for a second before managing to school her expression once more.

“I’m out here, Nathalie!” A bright voice chimed back from beyond the window, which he soon realised was more of a door, which lead to a large looking balcony, from what he could see. Madame Sancouer led him to the glass doors and out onto the sunny balcony.

On a stone bench pressed right against the rail of the balcony sat a poised looking young man whose golden hair caught and bounced the sunlight as though it were made from its beams. Like the senior Lord Agreste, he was also dressed exquisitely, his black jacket and pants fitting his lean form perfectly. The young man had his head turned away from them as he leaned on the rail to look at whatever view he had.

“Adrien, you have a visitor.” Madame Sancouer announced. The young man, now confirmed as Adrien, perked up as he turned to face them. Nino held back a gasp as he took in the young lord’s face. His vivid green eyes were a perfect match for the woman in the portrait, and the young man’s face was every bit as beautiful as he had previously speculated was impossible to be real, if not _more_. Adrien’s expression brightened with visible excitement as he looked at Nino. The bard wasn’t sure what confused him more; why this guy was so excited to see someone he’d never met before, or why his own heart was suddenly beating so fast.


	2. A Prince Locked in His Tower

When Nathalie had told him that he had a visitor, Adrien had been expecting to see Chloe. So, when he turned and found instead a young man he’d never seen before, he was beyond excited to be able to meet someone new. Was this a new friend that his father had approved of? Looking at the man’s face, he was delighted to find that he had a kind look to him. It’s not that he didn’t appreciate having a friend in Chloe, but on several occasions, he had found her cruel nature too much to handle. He knew she was only trying to be more like her mother, the queen, but it frustrated him to no end that the staff at Chloe’s palace avoided talking to him simply because of his association to the princess. As if he needed any more isolation in his life. Looking into the man’s beautiful molten-gold eyes, he immediately knew he’d be different. As he took in more of his appearance, confusion rose within him. While the man had the radiance of a prince from across the sea that he’d heard of in his books, his clothes were plain and worn, much closer to what the staff would wear than his own. There was no way he’d meet his father’s insane vetting to be his friend, so what was he doing here?

“This is Nino Lahiffe, he has just been hired as the court musician. He will also be assisting you when you are learning any duet pieces.” Nathalie informed. While disappointed that he wasn’t here as an approved friend, Adrien was still glad at the idea of spending time with someone new. Who knew? Maybe they could secretly become friends like he had done with Sir Kim. Jumping to his feet, he made his way to the newest member of his father’s staff and extended his hand towards him.

“It’s lovely to meet you, Monsieur Lahiffe.” Adrien greeted warmly, wanting to make a good impression. For a moment it seemed like the musician was surprised at the gesture, before his expression softened and he reached his own hand to meet Adrien’s, clasping it before shaking it briefly. He noticed Nathalie flinch the moment their hands touched, but he elected to ignore it. He wasn’t going to hurt the guy, for crying out loud. His father’s rules about human contact were ridiculous, even considering Adrien’s… condition. His father had it in his head that if he touched someone while human, it would leave his scent on them, marking them for the beast when it takes over. It was ridiculous, to use Chloe’s words. If that were accurate, he’d have killed Chloe by now, with the amount she drapes herself over him.

Nino’s hand was large and warm, the callouses on the tips of his fingers tickling Adrien’s skin slightly, sending a shiver up his arm and down his spine. If the guy hadn’t been wearing a lute strapped over his shoulder, that would have been the big give away to what instrument he played.

“I very much look forward to playing with you.” Adrien commented, offering a smile that he hoped conveyed his sincerity. Relief filled him when he saw a subtle tinge of pink grow in the musician’s cheeks and felt his pulse quicken under his finger. Surely such a modest reaction was a good sign. Adrien had to admit that he was surprised that a guy that was so handsome would be this meek, but with Sir Kim as his only reference point, perhaps this humility was more common than not. Either way, Adrien found it becoming. At the sound of Nathalie awkwardly clearing her throat, it dawned on Adrien that he still had the young bard’s hand clasped in his own. Quickly, he released the hand and stepped back a polite distance, giving an apologetic nod.

“Your first practise is scheduled for this afternoon. In the meantime, Monsieur Lahiffe will be learning his part of the piece and you will be attending your languages lesson.” Nathalie announced, giving a curt nod before turning to exit the balcony. For a moment, the bard stood there as if frozen, staring both at Adrien and seemingly nothing before he suddenly jolted back to attention and darted awkwardly after Nathalie. Before Adrien could ponder on what it meant, his focus was pulled by a dark but muffled cackling that was coming from his jacket.

“Plagg! What’s so funny?” Adrien whispered through his teeth, hoping that the musician and Nathalie were far away enough not to hear either of them. Phasing out of the jacket, the little demon’s cackling became clearer.

“Just you and your new courtesan, that’s all.” Plagg answered in a teasing tone. Adrien groaned and dropped his head into his hands.

“Nathalie said _court musician_ , not courtesan!” He hissed, cheeks flaming with embarrassment. Judging by the increased level of maniacal laughter, Adrien was sure that the little demon was intentionally messing with him. Annoyed, he stomped back inside his bedroom without another word to his constant companion. Despite the fact that Plagg was a demon, Adrien for the most part enjoyed his company. That being said, moments like this one served only to remind him that Plagg was indeed part of a curse.

“Oh really? You could have fooled me with how fast your heart was beating when you were holding hands and gazing into each other’s eyes.” Plagg quipped as he floated behind him. Adrien elected not to go for the demon’s bait and ignored the comment.

“She’s going to tell your father, you know.” The suddenly serious statement finally got Adrien to turn and face Plagg.

“What are you talking about? Did she see you?!” He asked, panic rising in his chest. Plagg rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“I meant about your little hand holding incident.” Plagg clarified. Adrien narrowed his brow in irritation as he recalled the expression Nathalie had worn when he shook Nino’s hand.

“Ugh, probably. I wasn’t even touching him for that long, and it was just a handshake. I’ll never understand what my father thinks will happen if he lets me touch people.” He complained, dropping himself on top of his bed, stomach first.

“I don’t know. Maybe he thinks you’ll catch feelings off of them. You were certainly feeling something when that boy touched you.” Plagg teased, his mischievous smirk returning. Hiding a smile and rolling his eyes, Adrien pushed himself back up and stepped toward the door.

“Come on, I have a lesson to get to.”

After Plagg flew back into his pocket, Adrien knocked on the door and waited. After a moment, the sound of keys jangling and then turning in the door could be heard through the wood and before too long the door opened, revealing today’s guard and his language teacher. The security process was absolutely ridiculous, but there was no talking his father out of it. It wasn’t even completely because of the whole “turning into a wild beast at night” thing. His father was weirdly paranoid that if someone wanted to kidnap or kill him, taking the set of keys to his room off of one person would be too easy, so he insists that to open the door you need two sets of keys; one with the person watching the door, and the other with the person who was coming to collect him for his next lesson. It was an extremely unlikely possibility, so Adrien was pretty sure the real reason was so that he couldn’t pickpocket the keys and sneak out. It was a useless strategy considering he could easily escape by scaling the wall from his balcony, but he wasn’t about to tell his father that. It’s not like he snuck out often anyway. The only time people didn’t check on him regularly was during the night, and he didn’t want to sneak out then for obvious reasons. The idea of hurting anyone again made him feel sick to his stomach. It was better he locked himself away, no matter how much he wants to be out there.

A soft, calming purr emanated from his pocket, getting Adrien to snap out of his sad line of thinking. It would be better to focus on how he finally has someone beside a grumpy old teacher to play music with who might even want to be his friend! Also, his studies. He was definitely going to focus on his studies.

-

Despite his efforts to, Adrien found he couldn’t focus on what his teacher was saying. Not when he could hear the gentle strumming of Nino learning his part of their duet from down the hall. He was picking it up remarkably quickly and managed to find interesting ways to transform the piece with his own flair. Adrien liked to think that told him everything he needed to know about Nino. The young musician was clearly a creative person with a relaxed, yet playful personality. It excited Adrien to know that such a person was being let into his life.

“Now may be a good point to stop for today, my lord. I think you’ve taken in as much as you can.” The voice of his teacher cut through his thoughts and snapped his attention back. Looking at his face, the teacher looked like his patience was wearing thin behind his forced polite smile, causing Adrien to bow his head in shame.

“Sorry, sir. Please don’t take my lack of focus as a sign of a lack of respect for you.” Adrien apologised meekly. Daring a peek to gauge his teacher’s reaction, he was relieved to see the man had shifted to a more natural smile.

“Not at all, my lord. Why don’t we hurry along to your next activity, hmm?” At the suggestion, Adrien felt himself perk back up and buzz with excitement. He couldn't wait to see Nino again.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is multi-chapter, with no rigid schedule for uploading for the time being.
> 
> As it is a gift, I will be doing my best to update as quickly as I can!


End file.
